There's another reference in here. Bonus points for whoever can pick it out and tell me what film. (Think animation...)
It was quite dark when Appa touched down at the outside of a sketchy looking hotel on the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Zuko saw the animal he was looking for grazing outside the hotel.
The Shirshu.
He dismounted from Appa and motioned for the others to follow him. Katara looked nervous and stayed close behind him. Zuko opened the door of the tavern just as a man was thrown past him. Katara stayed close behind him, looking around the chaos with skepticism.
"And the reason you've brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" she asked, staying alert.
"June" Zuko said, pointing to the center of the tavern. A dark haired woman with fair skin and dark red lipstick looked up at them when they entered. A hint of recognition flashed across her face. She raised a glass to her lips just as a drunk thug came barreling her way. She turned and kicked the man down, using him briefly as a footstool before another man retaliated. She dodged and fought quickly and gracefully, and even Suki was impressed.
"Oh yeah, that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole" Sokka recalled, trying to remember the nature of the last encounter. Suki made a face.
"Mole? Her skin is flawless" Suki said in admiration.
"No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on" Sokka explained. There was a crash as a table broke on the other side of the room. Katara flinched and instinctively grabbed Zuko's hand. He glanced down, then back at her eyes in understanding.
"The shirshu. It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world" Zuko explained, turning to Katara. "It's the one shot we have of finding him" It was all he could think of right now. As they watched, June threw a man into a table just in time to catch her cup of tea and take a sip. Toph was immediately won over.
"I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her" Toph announced. A burly looking man walked up to Katara and she flinched. She didn't love the environment. Zuko noticed, and would make this quick. He gave her hand a quick squeeze. Sokka briefly looked down at their joined hands then stepped in between the two quickly.
"Hey, I remember her!" Sokka exclaimed, finally remembering. "She helped you attack us!" Zuko glanced back and nodded, unfazed.
"Yep" he agreed "Back in the good ol' days." He led the group up to June, who glanced up at him instant recognition.
"Oh great, it's Prince-Pouty" June remarked. Toph grinned. She would have to remember that one. "Where's your creepy grandpa?"
"He's my uncle" Zuko corrected "And he's not here." June looked disinterested and glanced over at Katara.
"I see you worked things out with your girlfriend" she remarked. This brought quick blushes to both Katara and Zuko. They reacted sharply and instantly, and Suki and Toph tried to hold back their laughter. Sokka looked oblivious.
"I'm not his..." "She's not my..." "girlfriend!" They quickly justified at the same time. June held up her hands to quiet them.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh. I was only teasing. So what do you want" June asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"I need your help finding the Avatar" Zuko said. That sentence sounded like extreme Déjà vu. June glanced away from them, looking completely disinterested.
"Hm. Doesn't sound too fun" she said before taking a sip of her tea. Zuko grimaced and balled up his fists. How could she be so casual about this?
"Does the end of the world sound like more fun?" he asked her dramatically. Toph bit back a grin. Zuko had quite the flare for the dramatic. June put her drink down and gave Zuko a side-glance.
"You really haven't improved your social skills any, have you?" June asked. Zuko stared at her blankly.
"Please, we don't know what else to do" Katara said quickly. Her eyes darted nervously about the tavern as June stood up. The bounty hunter sighed and tossed a few coins to the bar tender. She scanned her eyes around the bar before reaching over and snatching a steak off of another man's plate. She ignored the man's protest and turned to the door.
"Fine. I'll at least look into it" she said. She headed out of the door without another word and the Gaang followed her outside. The Shirshu and Appa were sniffing each other and didn't seem aggressive to each other despite their previous encounter.
"Nyla" June called, dangling the piece of meat in front of her. The Shirshu backed away from Appa and gobbled up the meat in one quick bite. June stepped closer and fondly ran her hand over the animal's head. "Who's my little, hmm, Snuffly-Wuffly?" she asked. Nyla shot out her tongue in response and June ducked. "Whoa! Careful there" she exclaimed, continuing to rub the Nyla's head. "Ok, so who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it" she asked.
Katara turned and crawled up the side of Appa. "I have Aang's staff" she offered. June nodded and took the staff, holding it in front of the Shirshu's nose. The Shirshu took a sniff then walked in circles around the area. Its head darted right then left before the animal collapsed on the ground and put its paws over its nose. Nyla whined and refused to move.
"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko asked crossing him arms. He fully expected the Shirshu to take off running after a moment.
"Means your friend's gone" June replied. A pit was sent directly into everyone's stomach at the words. Everyone but Toph, who kicked the dirt impatiently and folded her arms.
"We know he's gone. That's why we're trying to find him" Toph explained. Duh.
"No, I mean he's gone gone" June explained as she stood up and faced the group. "He doesn't exist." Katara looked up nervously at Zuko as panic started to settle into her chest. Zuko looked down at her and grabbed her hand again in reassurance as Sokka's eyes widened and he walked over in front of June.
"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?" Sokka burst out, talking with his hands dramatically. "Do you mean he's...you know, dead?" Toph could've broken one of Sokka's ribs at that moment. Worse. Suggestion. There had to be an explanation.
"Nope. We could find him if he were dead. Wow, it's a real head-scratcher" June said as she stroked Nyla's head. "See ya." Toph scowled and turned towards Zuko.
"Helpful. Real helpful" she grumbled.
June turned to go and Zuko stepped forward quickly. If they couldn't find Aang, then he knew what the next best thing was. "Wait. I have another idea" he said. June stopped and looked at him. Maybe she was still willing to help. "There's only one other person in this world who can help us face the Fire Lord. I'll be right back with a smell sample" Zuko said, turning back to Appa. He jumped up and pulled out his bag. He rifled through before finding what he was looking for. The single smelly sandal he had used to track Iroh when he was missing before. He jumped down, holding the sandal by the tip of the heel. The little incident had happened last year, but the shoe still smelled distinctly of Iroh.
He brought it forward and the others instantly grimaced.
"You saved your uncle's sweaty sandal?" Sokka asked, holding his nose.
"I think it's kinda sweet" Toph offered with a smile. June hopped on Nyla's back and urged the Shirshu forward. "Let's do this." June said. The gravity of the situation had hit her and though she typically didn't do charity jobs, this was not that. She was Fire Nation by birth, but she was not down for worldwide rule for the Fire Lord who she considered a little crazy. If she play a part to stop that from happening... Nyla took one large sniff of the offending shoe before turning and bolting.
"Hey!" Zuko protested, turning and running back to Appa "Wait up!"
Appa lifted off once everyone was back on board, and they were able to follow the Shirshu without much difficulty. The wind blew with them, helping Appa fly faster and easier. If fate was actually on their side, then that was a good sign. Zuko took the reigns of Appa the entire night, keeping his eyes glued to the running Shirshu on the ground below.
Sokka and Suki had long since snuggled up together and fallen asleep on the bags. Toph was holding fast to Katara, hating the helpless feeling of not being able to see while they were flying.
"Zuko, do you think your uncle can defeat his brother?" Toph asked. Zuko turned his head slightly to look at Toph. Katara held the smaller girl around the shoulders and Toph leaned tiredly against her. Toph's voice was tired and dejected. Zuko hated seeing her like that, so unlike herself.
"I think so, Toph" Zuko said, meeting Katara's gaze. "Especially with the world's greatest earthbender on his side, I don't know how we can lose." Toph smiled at that and closed her eyes.
"Do you want me to steer Appa for a bit?" Katara asked. Zuko had been flying since yesterday afternoon. He had to be tired. Zuko smiled at her gratefully before shaking his head.
"No, rest. I have a hunch that we'll be flying for a lot longer. If we're still flying by tomorrow morning you can have a turn" he told her. Katara nodded and rested her head on top of Toph's messy black hair. Sleep called to her and before long the rocking of the flying bison had lured her to sleep. Zuko turned to check on the sleeping heaps in the saddle several times. Sokka was drooling and Suki had her face buried in Sokka's chest. Toph and Katara had fallen to the floor of the saddle, snuggled together and completely asleep. Zuko looked at the horizon and guessed it was almost daybreak. They had been flying all night. Below him, June pulled back on Nyla's reigns and stopped the Shirshu.
"There's a spring over there! Let's take a quick rest and water the animals" she called up to Zuko. Zuko nodded and directed Appa to the ground. The bison groaned, sensing the water and moving towards it quickly. As Appa and Nyla drank, Zuko pulled some blankets from the packs and proceeded to tuck in his sleeping friends.
Suki opened her eyes slightly when Zuko tucked the blanket under her chin. "Thank you" she whispered sleepily, snuggling closer to the snoring Sokka. Zuko nodded and squeezed Suki's shoulder.
"You're welcome" he told her. He turned to Katara and Toph. One of Toph's arms was twisted backwards and was sure to hurt the next morning. Zuko picked it up and tucked it under the other hand resting on her stomach before taking the blanket and wrapping it around the sleeping earth bender. June watched him quietly do this with interest. The last time she had seen the prince he had a proud tied back pony tail and a terrible temperament. And he certainly wasn't friends with the two water tribe children that he had been chasing before.
But now he was caring for all of them all like they had always been his family. She watched as he paused in front of the water bender and carefully brushed stray hairs out of her face. He wrapped the blanket gently around her, tucking it beneath her legs and around her shoulders. He took a moment and lovingly took in the picture. It was so peaceful. Everyone but Aang, just huddled together while the badger frogs croaked by the spring. Zuko leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Katara's cheek before sliding down the side of Appa to wash his face in the cold water.
June observed the entire thing and smiled as the young prince drank the refreshing water.
"Not your girlfriend, huh?" she said to him finally. Zuko snapped his head up, hair dripping with water from the spring.
"No" he said honestly "Can't be."
"You don't have to actually call her that in order for it to be true" June remarked, reaching for the saddle on Nyla's back. She hoisted herself up and pulled the Shirshu's head out of the water. Zuko just stared at her. She shrugged and snapped the whip. Zuko quickly crawled back up to Appa's head and encouraged the bison away from the spring and back into the air.
A few hours later, sunlight breached over the edge of the landscape as the sun peaked its head over the horizon. One of the last peaceful days before the arrival of Sozin's Comet. Katara woke with a yawn, surprised to feel comfortable and warm. Her eyes blinked open and she realized she was tucked in tightly. One quick glance around and she saw that everyone else was also wrapped in blankets and still sleeping peacefully. She gently lifted Toph's sleeping head off her lap and set it down gently beneath her own blanket on the floor of the saddle. She reached for the supply bag and pulled out the fruit she had packed for their breakfast. She quietly divided it up and set it next to everyone's still sleeping form.
She balanced her own fruit and Zuko's in her arm and swung herself over the side of the saddle and onto Appa's head. Zuko turned to her when she sat down and offered him a mango. He took it gratefully and leaned up against her tiredly.
"Are you ok?" Katara asked softly. She reached up and played with the ends of his hair before moving her hand down to gently massage the back of his right shoulder.
"Just tired" Zuko replied.
"Want to go back and rest?" Katara asked before taking a bite of her breakfast. Zuko paused before handing her Appa's reigns.
"Yeah. Thanks" he said. He hesitated for a little bit and ate his breakfast next to Katara.
"Thank you for the blankets" she whispered to him. To have someone else take care of her. That was new. And it was nice. Zuko just nodded and resumed leaning up against her.
"It's what family does" Zuko quoted. Katara smiled at him and reached out to give his hand a squeeze.
"What family does" Katara repeated. The words brought him back to the conversation he had with Toph the day before. Family had always meant one thing to him. Pain. In some form or another. Always pain. To have this new concept of love and care shoved so completely his way by so many people took some time to adjust to. Before, only Uncle had ever shown him that sort of dedication and love. And he had rejected it to flee into the good graces of the family that had hurt him.
The feeling of dread that he had been pushing aside for so long came back to him in a rush. He was about to find Uncle, he was sure of it. But would Uncle even want him back? Would he fight by Zuko's side only to rightly push him away the second the fight was over? It filled him with dread. In less than two days he could lose all of the family he had ever had. Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Aang, and Uncle. Gone forever. He couldn't waste another minute.
But right now he was about to fall asleep and fall off of Appa's head. He relented and crawled back into the saddle and let Katara fly Appa until after lunch. He served as Toph's anchor as she immediately grabbed a hold of someone the second she woke up. He dozed off as the others woke up and made small talk as the landscape flew away beneath them. June and her Shirshu never slowed or let up, even as the sun rose into the sky.
"Does the woman even need to eat?" Sokka asked after watching June ride for hours without budging.
"It is said that a true Warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe" Suki quoted wisely. Sokka snorted and Toph laughed.
"You can give up ever being a "true warrior," Sokka" Toph said.
"If being a "true warrior" means I can't eat then I give it up willingly" Sokka said, raising his hands in defeat. Katara and Zuko had just traded places again and Katara settled down next to Toph. She had a cramp in her foot.
"Well, June is no warrior. She's a bounty hunter" Katara clarified.
"I'd make a good bounty hunter" Toph said, leaning back and crossing her legs.
"I second that!" Zuko called over his shoulder. "You'd be fantastic at it, Toph."
"Sounds dangerous" Katara observed.
"All the more reason to love it" Toph said with a smile.
The day passed slowly and quickly at the same time. Katara sat up at the front of the saddle and talked with Zuko until the sun finally started to set. They didn't talk about anything of significance, but Zuko was bouncing back and forth on whether or not he should surrender completely and tell Katara everything he could about himself and what he felt for her. If he was going to lose Uncle then he couldn't lose Katara too. Not without her knowing everything that she could know. But he still didn't want to do it in front of an audience. His thoughts were interrupted when Katara jumped up in excitement.
"Look!" Katara exclaimed as she pointed into the distance "That looks like..."
"The wall of Ba Sing Se" Zuko finished as he saw the top of the grand structure reach up into the sky. Why would Uncle go there?
They reached the edge of the first wall and June stopped the Shirshu. Appa landed outside the rubble of the broken wall.
"We're going to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked, wanting to clarify. June pulled Nyla back and turned to him.
"Your uncle's somewhere beyond the wall" she told him "Nyla's getting twitchy so he can't be too far." She paused "Good luck." she finished before turning and leaving on her Shirshu as quick as she came. Zuko watched her go for a second. June hadn't asked for payment of any kind. It surprised him, but he didn't question it. He was too tired to think too much about it.
"It's been a long day" he said as he turned to look at the others "Let's camp and start our search again at dawn." They didn't bother to unload everything and set up their tents per usual. They ate their simple dinner without too much talking. It was eerily quiet by the wall. No soldiers or patrols. Zuko decided he would try to stay up as much as he could to keep watch. Only Toph made an earth tent and decided to sleep on the ground. Sokka and Suki fell onto the back of Appa's tail and curled up together, asleep in seconds.
Katara flopped onto one of Appa's paws and looked up expectantly at Zuko. He looked away and moved to crawl back into the saddle so he could have a good vantage point to watch.
"What are you doing?" Katara asked. Zuko looked down at her and shrugged.
"Someone's got to keep watch" he responded as if it was obvious. Katara frowned and shook her head.
"Zuko, you've barely slept at all and you won't be any good facing your father in the next 48 hours if you don't rest. No one is going to bother us. Now come down here" Katara urged. Zuko relented and slid down to Appa's paw next to her.
"Is this ok?" he asked as he laid down next to her. Katara smiled and reached out for him. "It's not like we haven't done this before" she told him. He blushed slightly but nodded in agreement. She held his hand and watched him, her face full of worry.
"I'm ok" he urged her.
"You're dead from exhaustion. I expect you to get some sleep" Katara demanded. Zuko nodded. He closed to his eyes but didn't immediately drift off. He decided it was now or never.
"Katara" he said quietly, turning to look at her. Katara adjusted herself so she was facing him. Zuko paused and listened for Sokka and Toph's snoring. The others were fast asleep. They wouldn't hear this conversation. "I...need to tell you something." Katara's eyes widened. She had grown attuned to Zuko's heartbeat and noticed that it was racing now.
"My uncle might not want to see me after what I did to him. I want to find him but I'm scared" Zuko began awkwardly, not knowing how to lead in to this conversation. Katara's heart went out to him, but she didn't reply. She waited for him to finish. "Uncle has been always there for me from the beginning. When I was banished he was the only one who offered to go with me. He wasn't ordered. He wanted to."
Katara's eyes snapped open, suddenly very awake. He had never disclosed why he was banished in the first place. He had mentioned it to her, back at that first night on Ember Island after the Southern Raiders mission. She knew he was banished to hunt the avatar and that's why he was so obsessed. It had made sense to her at the time, and she hadn't pushed for more information. But now she considered the details that she was missing out on. What had he said on the rooftop when Toph asked about his scar?
I was the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time
"I thought...I thought I wasn't worthy for any family at that point" Zuko admitted "When I was banished, my father made it pretty clear that he didn't consider me his son. And I just wanted that back. I wanted him to love me and be proud. Like he was of Azula. It didn't matter how he hurt me...he..." Katara gasped and a pit landed in her stomach. She didn't want to believe what he was saying. Zuko wasn't just talking about emotional hurt or pain.
She reflexively reached up to his scar. He did not shy away and he met her eyes. They reflected all the pain that he was recalling now. And it hurt. He didn't want to be this vulnerable. He did not want her to see him as weak.
"Zuko, how did you get this scar?" Katara asked quietly, not wanting her suspicions to be confirmed, but wanting to know the truth.
"From my father" Zuko admitted, his voice cracking "For doing the right thing." Katara's heart broke and tears immediately streamed down her cheeks. She didn't know how to process this information. She knew Fire Lord Ozai was an evil person, but to envision him in the position of fatherhood, like Hakoda, and stoop so low as to scar his own son for life...she couldn't comprehend that. Zuko misinterpreted her tears and moved to turn away, regretting what he said immediately. Katara reached out an arm and stopped him.
"Zuko, wait" she whispered. She moved closer to him, and hesitantly reached back up to the scarred red skin. "Please, tell me...if you can."
"I don't want you to see me differently" Zuko said quietly.
"I won't" Katara promised quickly, looking up intently into his eyes. "Never."
"I was 13" Zuko said, sliding down so they were lying just a few inches apart. "I convinced Uncle to let me into a war meeting. I wanted to learn from my father and succeed somewhere. If Azula was the more powerful one then maybe I could be the wiser one." Katara squeezed his hand and let him continue. "But when I was in the meeting I heard how the generals planned to sacrifice an entire battalion of young soldiers as a diversion to the main attack. It was horrible and not honorable at all. I couldn't believe that all the generals were agreeing to it. Even uncle said nothing. So I jumped up and spoke out. By doing so I showed great disrespect to all my elders there, including my father."
"A matter of honor can only be decided in an Agni Kai. I thought I would be facing the old general who I had contradicted, so I wasn't concerned. All of the generals and nobles were there when I realized I would be facing my own father. They watched me beg for mercy, on my knees like the child I was. I refused to fight, and when I didn't get up my father put his hand on my face." Zuko paused, the painful memory burned back with force. But Katara's cool hand was still on his cheek. He was surprised not to see pity in her eyes, but anger. Her blue eyes were filled with tears but flashed with a ferocity that called back to when she faced Yon Rha. But this time, the anger was for him.
"He was quite careful how he burned me" Zuko said "He made sure I didn't lose sight in my eye or hearing in my ear. He controlled the fire and limited it to my skin only. He made sure he would have a shamed and ugly son, but not a handicapped one." Zuko shook his head and let out a small bitter laugh. "Wasn't that nice of him?"
"But...But why banish you after hurting you like that? Was that punishment not enough?" Katara asked, pushing her anger to the side. Zuko shook his head.
"The banishment was because I refused to fight. He said I had no concept of honor and needed to learn" Zuko replied. They were silent for a few minutes. So much of their intertwined past made so much more sense to Katara.
"I lied" she whispered. Zuko looked at her in confusion. "I see you differently now" she explained. Zuko looked down regretfully but Katara lifted his chin back up so he could look her in the eyes. "I have twice the respect for you than I ever did before. You weren't turned into a good person, Zuko. You always have been one. It just took you a little bit for you to see that too" she told him. "And your uncle knows that. Apparently, he's always known that. If you're legitimately sorry, which I know you are, then he'll forgive you. I did, didn't I?"
"It took you a bit" Zuko said.
"It did" Katara admitted "But I didn't know you then. Not really. Your uncle has always known you. I think it'll be much easier for him." Zuko took in her words silently. Katara hesitated a moment before reaching up and letting her lips brush against his marred cheek. Zuko sighed at the sensation as tears slipped down his cheek. She had accepted him. Scars and all. He was so tired.
"I wanted you to know..." Zuko said, his voice dropping off "And Katara, I..." His head tipped forward. He had been up for too long.
"Sleep" Katara whispered to him. Zuko didn't get those last two words out. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of Katara's lips on his cheek before she rolled away. She watched him sleep for just a second before turning onto her side and staring up at the stars and moon above.
She had never felt so close to him.
"I love him" she whispered to herself. "I really love him."
Just a reminder, the is a prequel to my main project (That is already 15K words done if you wanna know...) I felt like I couldn't tell my version of Season 4 without filling in the gaps here. I will not be following the comics at all, though finding Ursa will be one of the plot points because of course it will. Thank you for reading and I hope you keep your eyes pealed for the upcoming story "When Two Roads Became One." It will be part of a series that will include this story, my version of Season 4, and as of right now, 4 short stories with no more than 5 chapters each. Katara Alone, Toph Alone, Aang Alone, and The Month After which will tell what happens in the month immediately following the war before the main story picks up six years later. I think it goes without saying, but this fic will not have a canon ending in case you were wondering.
This AN will be left at the end of every chapter until the end. Thanks for reading!